Kitty Deschanel

Despite our paid time off, SN and I always feel guilty taking a break from work to travel. We're clearly not the only ones - a recent study by the US Travel Association found that 55% of Americans did not use all of their vacation time in 2018. Busy professionals can find it hard to switch off. I know we struggle to reconcile leaving our responsibilities behind with the need for a bit of downtime. In competitive sectors, being out of the loop even for a few days can be tricky and even feel damaging to a career, particularly when you have an important role on your team. Making time for yourself is vital for everyone. Not only do you need to treat yourself from time to time, but having time to relax and not think about work can make you far more productive and efficient when you are back behind your desk. Time spent walking in the Adirondacks or cruising from San Diego gives you the mental space to think, about work, yes, but also about life and yourself. Vacation Planning Tip

2021 Update: We're currently in Washington DC with a team of folks to wine and dine. You guessed it - we're all going to Medium Rare. We would never visit Washington, DC without including a meal at our favorite Steakhouse, Medium Rare . In fact, if we had a long enough layover, Sexy Nerd and I would have to leave the airport and dash over for a quick plate of Steak Frites. It would be wrong not to. Make that two plates. The best thing about Medium Rare is that when you finish your steak, another plate of Steak Frites wonderfully appears. The steak even comes pre-sliced for you, making it all the easier to shovel greedily into your mouth. Surprise! I wish we could go there right now. C'mon, Medium Rare. You need to expand to New Mexico. Medium Rare DC On our most recent trip to DC, we ordered Steak Frites as part of Medium Rare's brunch menu. As if a big plate of the best steak ever is not enough, all brunch meals also include the most scrumptious, crusti

I thought Pica was bad, especially when she had tapeworms and earmites, but she can't compare to Biscuit. I have a funny dog story to outdo all the other funny dog stories. Actually, it's just plain gross. I was petting Biscuit and noticed a bump on her side. It looked like it might be a gross, doggy zit. Sexy Nerd thought it might be a tick, so we decided to try to remove it. We got the tweezers and  held Biscuit down .  Well, we were both wrong. Trigger warning...you may not want to read the next part...don't say I didn't try to stop you... It was some sort of creature that had burrowed into her skin! We pulled out a  big, grubby, stretchy, still-squirming WORM !  Yuck, yuck, yuck! Luckily, Biscuit is just about due for her rabies shot, so we're going to bring the worm with us to her appointment to make sure there isn't anything else we should be concerned about. Poor Biscuit! She actually didn't seem to notice at all. I did give her

Sexy Nerd and I love cruising. Here is a recap and review of our Sea of Cortez cruise on one of our favorite ships, the Holland America Veendam . It was actually two cruise itineraries back-to-back, taking us all the way from northwestern Canada through Mexico.  Visiting the Sea of Cortez is a bucket list item we've already checked off...but would love to do again! Holland America Veendam Holland America Veendam, Day #1 - Seattle After flying to Seattle from Albuquerque, we took the light rail to the Amtrak station, where we were able to check our luggage. Next, it was time to explore the waterfront. Who can resist having their photo taken with a giant penguin? Not me. We walked to the mall. Sexy Nerd found a more manly penguin for his photo. Downtown Seattle seemed a bit rough so we made sure to be back at the Amtrak station before dark. The station was undergoing a huge restoration project. The Amtrak statio